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Published December, 192it 


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PAGE 

A Trip to the Moon 9 

Little Joe Gosling 12 

The Dog that Tried to Go Two Ways at Once ... 16 

The Littlest Crow and the Biggest Heart .... 19 

True Worth 23 

Saved by His Wits 26 

The Coming op Dawn 29 

The Safer Way 31 

How THE Toad Got His Humps 34 

Little Nero 37 

A Trip to Nowhere 41 

The Lonely Little Rose 44 

The Flying Lesson 46 

The Lazy Grasshopper 50 

The Better Way 53 

Getting Out of a Hole 56 


5 


Great and Small . . 

The Careless Dragonfly 
The Runaway Donkey 
Woodchuck Lodge . 

Wisdom 

One Kernel of Corn . 
The Longest Way . 

The Absent-Minded Pig 


PAGE 

58 

61 

63 

65 

68 

71 

75 

78 


6 



PAGE 

He spread his chicken wings just as he had seen birds 
do Frontispiece 


The dog was gaining on them at every bound .... 16 

Mr. Raccoon had no wish to pick a quarrel with Reynard . 58 

What I am about to do may seem foolish to you now ... 72 


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Yi'.: 



A TKIP TO THE MOON 


A YOUNG BEAR and a little squirrel whose homes hap- 
pened to be in the same old forest tree, got to playing 
with each other and became very dear friends. The 
bear was a fairly good climber; but of course the squirrel was 
able to get to a great many places that the bear could not. He 
could scamper to the very tip of the tallest tree and he was rather 
proud to think that, although he was so much smaller than the 
bear, he could outdo him in many ways; and it perhaps did not 
occur to him that, on the other hand, the bear was able to do a 
few things that a squirrel could not. 

One day the bear climbed way up into the top of a tall sap- 
ling. I wonder if you know what a sapling is. It is a very young 
tree, and this particular one was only a little bigger around than 
your arm. The tree did not break; but the weight of the bear 
was so great that it bent way over until its top nearly touched the 

ground and by bouncing up and down a little so as to make it 

9 


spring, the bear was able to have a gay ride. Of course that 
looked hke great sport to Master Squirrel, so he scampered up 
another little tree and tried to bend it over; but his tiny weight 
made no impression and he was very much provoked. 

I could once get it to bend,^^ said he, know I could 
spring just as you do.” 


^Terhaps,” said Master Bear. tell you what we will do. 

I will climb up and bend the tree over for you and then I will go 
back to my own tree.” 



So he climbed up to the top and sure enough, just as they had 
thought, the tree bent over very nicely and Master Squirrel 
perched himself comfortably where he could bob up and down. 


10 


When he was all ready he told the little bear to let go and return 
to his own tree; but what do you suppose happened the very 
second the bear released his hold? There was a sharp, swishing 
sound and a rustle of branches, and the top of the tree shot up into 
the air so very unexpectedly that I fear the young squirrel never 
will know just what did happen. Of course the tree stopped mov- 
ing when it got straightened out, but the little squirrel did not. 
Up and up he went — higher and higher — and when I wrote this 
story he was still going — up and up and up in the direction of 
the moon. 


11 


LITTLE JOE GOSLING 


L ittle joe gosling was the baby of a family of ten 
young geese and everyone seemed to agree that he was 
very bright for his age. But one day he made a stupid 
blunder and it is hard to live a thing of that kind down; so now 
when folks see him, as hke as not they turn their heads away to 
hide their smiles and say, There goes that silly little Gosling boy, 
have you heard about the stupid thing he did the other day?^^ 

You have not heard, I am sure, so I will tell you. Because he 
was her youngest son, and because she was so very proud of him, 
Mrs. Gosling seldom allowed him out of her sight; but one day 
he stole away when she wasn^t looking and went for a long walk 
across the fields. ^'What a pleasure this is,^’ he said to himself, 
^'not to be watched every minute or to be told that I must not 
go here or there. What a lovely time I am having.^’ So he walked 
on and on. He did not see that the sun was getting low and never 
once thought of turning back. 


12 


At length he came to a fence. It was made of woven wire 
and the mesh was so fine that he could not wiggle through it. 
^‘Very well, if I cannot get through, I will go around,” thought he. 
So he walked along close to the fence looking for it to end. He 
walked and he walked but there seemed to be no end. At length 
he came to a gate but that was closed and he could not get through, 
so he walked and walked some more until he became very tired, 
but still he found no end to the fence and no place large enough to 
get through. Finally he came again to a gate and on examining it 
he was startled to find that it was the same gate that he had seen 
before. Then a terror seized him. have been walking around 
in a circle,” said he. am fenced in. I must have got into 
some sort of a trap. Oh dear! What will become of me?” Then 
he thought of pictures he had seen of foxes catching little geese, 
and he felt sure that he had fallen into one of their awful traps so 
he began to cry. 

His poor little webbed feet were very tired but he kept on 
walking and walking. Three more times he passed the same gate 
and then he felt that there could be no doubt about his being a 
prisoner. Night was coming on and he was too tired to walk any 
further so he just sat down and sobbed aloud. It seemed to him 

as though he had been there for hours, and it had grown quite 

13 


dark when suddenly he heard a sound close to him. His heart 
almost stopped beating for he felt sure that it was a fox come to 
take him. But what was his joy a moment later to see his own 
dear mother. “Oh! my poor child/’ she cried. “I have been 
looking everywhere for you.” 



“Mother, mother,” sobbed the poor little gosling, “help me 
out of this dreadful prison. I have walked around and around, 
oh so many times and I can find no way out.” 

Then his mother understood. “Why, you silly little goose,” 
she said, “you have been walking around on the outside of the 
garden fence. You are not fenced in any more than I am. What 
a very, very stupid mistake, to be sure.” 

14 


Little Joe was too tired to walk another step so he climbed up 
on to his mother^s back and nestled down, and in what seemed to 
him a very short time they were back home again; and just in 
time too, as the little girl who took care of the geese was locking 
up the poultry house for the night. 


15 


THE DOG THAT TKIED TO GO TWO 
WAYS AT ONCE 


T WO little bunnies were out walking one snowy winter 
day when they discovered that they were being pursued 
by a dog. As you know, the very worst thing that can 
happen to a bunny is to meet with this misfortune, because it is so 
apt to mean that the dog may catch him. They bounded away as 
fast as their little legs could carry them but, try as they would, 
they could tell by the barking of the dog that he was gaining on 
them at every bound. 

^^If we keep on in this way,” said one of the bunnies, ‘‘we 
will both be caught. He is sure to overtake us. I think it would 
be better to separate and then at least one of us will be able to 
escape.” 

The little bunnies were very dear friends and it almost broke 
their hearts to leave each other, but there was no time to waste in 
sentiment so they said goodbye and parted. 

Now it happened that the dog was a large and a very greedy 
16 


P>V' 



The dog was gaining on them at every bound.” 


4 






dog but he was not a hunting dog. He bounded swiftly along, 
perfectly sure that he would be able to overtake the rabbits in a 
short time. I think too, that his mind, a good part of the time, 
was centered on the feast he was to have. ^^Just think what a 
treat it will be to have two rabbits for one dinner,” he said to 
himself; and the thought made him smack his lips. 



Suddenly and quite unexpectedly he came to the place where 
the bunnies had parted company and he stopped abruptly. ‘^Now 
what is to be done?” said he. cannot go both ways, and if I 
follow one rabbit it will give the other a chance to escape. I want 
both of them.” He was very miserable. He sat and thought for 
some time. ^^Well, I must decide,” he said finally, am losing 
time.” So he started to follow the tracks that led off to the right. 
But he was very undecided. ^Hf I am to have only one,” he said, 
'^at least I will have the larger; but how am I to tell that? I 


17 


know; I am a very clever dog. I will go back to the place where 
they separated and examine the tracks. Then I can tell which it 
is.’’ So he turned around and trotted back and carefully studied 
the footprints. ^^It is well that I did this/^ he said, ^^for it is 
plain to see that the rabbit that went to the left, is much the 
larger.” This settled, he started off in that direction. 

And what do you suppose the bunnies were doing while the 
greedy dog was trying to make up his mind which way to go, and 
which was the larger of the two? Running? Of course they were; 
just as hard as they could run. And by the time the dog had 
decided which one he wanted, they were both so very far away 
that he never caught either of them. And you may guess how 
very happy they were to find each other; which they did in good 
time. 


18 


THE LITTLEST CROW AND THE 
BIGGEST HEART 

T here used to be a crow’s nest high up among the 
branches of an old oak tree, and there were three baby 
crows in the nest. The mother crow was very proud of 
them and she spent most of her time bringing them things to eat 
— corn, acorns, bugs, table scraps that had been thrown out, and 
in fact it would be quite impossible to name all of the things that 
appeal to the taste of young crows. The two older children were 
very greedy and whenever their mother came to the nest with 
some morsel of food they would crane their necks and open their 
beaks so wide that one or the other of them was sure to be favored 
with it; while the third baby crow got so very little to eat that 
the wonder was that he did not starve to death. Of course the 
two greedy ones grew very fast and were soon large enough to 
leave the nest. Their mother looked upon them with favor and 
took delight in showing them to all the neighbor birds and telling 

what fine children they were and how they were sure to be a credit 

19 



to her when they flew out into the world. But I am sorry to say 
she was a httle incUned to be ashamed of her poor puny little baby 
and she hardly cared to have it known that he was one of her 
children. 

One day, just before the young crows were about to leave the 
nest, the mother crow said to them, ^^My dears, you are about to 
leave me and go out into the great world. I wish each of you 
might bring me some little remembrance to show your appreciation 
of all that I have done for you.’^ 


The next morning the three young crows said goodbye to their 
mother and flew away. About noon the largest returned to her 

nest carrying a clamshell in his beak. ^^See, mother,^^ said he, 

20 


have brought you this beautiful shell. It will keep forever and 
it will always be a reminder to you of your finest son.^’ 

^^And what became of the clam that was inside of the shell? 
asked Mother Crow. 

^^Oh,” said the son, ate the clam.^^ 

Mrs. Crow made no reply. 

About the middle of the afternoon the second son returned 
carrying some com silk which he laid carefully beside his mother. 
^^See, mother,^’ said he, isn’t it beautiful! And what a lovely 
lining it will make for your nest.” 

‘^Now that my babies have gone I have no further need of 
my nest,” said the mother crow; “but may I ask what became of 
the ear of com from which you took the silk?” 

“Oh,” said the second son, “I ate the com.” 

And again the mother was silent. 

It was late in the afternoon when the third little son returned. 
He was very tired and it was with difficulty that he alighted on the 
bough close to his mother’s nest. He carried a morsel of meat in 
his beak and laid it at her feet, “See, mother,” said he, “it was 
the nicest thing I could find.” 

“But, my child, didn’t it tempt your own appetite?” said the 

mother. I should think you would have liked it yourself.” 

21 


“Indeed I would,” said the little crow. “I got enough of its 
flavor as I carried it home to be sure that it would be most delicious 
and that was the very thing that made me wish to give it to you. 
You have been so unselfish and have brought us so many good 
things to eat, and I am sure you would have enjoyed eating many 
of them yourself. I was only too happy to be able to do this one 
little thing for you.” 

Tears came to old Mrs. Crow’s eyes as she thought of how she 
had scorned her feeble baby because he did not make so fine an 
appearance as the other two. She tried to speak but her voice 
was choked. 

“My dear baby,” she said when she finally recovered her voice, 
“I am very proud of you. It is my wish that you eat the delicacy 
you so generously brought to me.” 

Then she turned to her two larger children and said, “I am 
greatly disappointed in both of you. I have done much for you 
and you have shown no appreciation. It meant no sacrifice to you 
to bring me an empty clamshell after you had eaten the clam; 
nor to you to carry the corn silk home after having eaten the corn. 
I am ashamed of both of you, but I am proud to think that I have 
one baby who understands the virtue of self-sacrifice.” 


22 


TKUE WOETH 


O NE day an old hen was wandering about the barnyard 
when she chanced to meet a cow. As neither of them 
was very busy they stopped to visit; and, as they had 
nothing more important to say, they began to talk about them- 
selves. The cow told the hen what a very necessary creature a 
cow is and how diflBcult it would be for people to get along without 
her; and the hen, in turn, told the cow how valuable she was and 
how dependent people were on her. 

They talked and talked, and finally began a real argument as 
to which of them was more necessary to mankind. Of course there 
were lots of very good arguments on both sides. We would find it 
quite hard to get along without milk, and I think it would be 
equally difficult to do without eggs. The argument grew more and 
more heated and some of the remarks were quite personal. The 
cow told Mrs. Hen that, if there were no chickens, and she some- 
times wished there weren't, people could get along very nicely with 

23 


ducks^ eggs. To this Mrs. Hen replied that she could not under- 
stand why anybody kept cows at all; that, to her mind, goats were 
just as useful and far more agreeable. 



At this unpleasant stage of the argument a little honeybee 
happened along on his way to the hive. He noticed that the cow 
and the hen were very much excited and paused just a moment to 
learn the cause. 

^^This is perfectly silly/ ^ said the cow, ^Ho think that a crea- 
ture the size of that hen should feel that she is as much needed as 
I am. I leave it to you, Master Bee, to settle the argument.” 

“Well,” said the little bee, “I am busy and have very little 
24 


time to settle arguments; but, since you have invited it, I will 
spare just a moment to give you a little advice. You are arguing 
a very foolish question and I would not pretend to decide it. We 
are all put here for a purpose, and it matters not whether we are 
as large as a cow or as small as a hen or,'^ and he looked very serious, 
^^as tiny as a honeybee. We need not argue as to which of us is 
most necessary. The thing that should concern us is how well we 
perform the duty that we were put here to fulfill. Give your milk, 
Mrs. Cow; and you, Mrs. Hen, continue to lay eggs; and I will 
busy myself and be content to gather honey.^^ 


25 


SAVED BY HIS WITS 


O NE fine spring day not so very long ago, a little frog 
was hopping along in a field when he had the misfortune 
to meet a large snake. It is not a pleasant thing to 
meet a snake, especially if one happens to be a frog; for snakes 
are very fond of frogs and surely it would be a most unhappy 
experience to be devoured by a snake. At first the little frog was 
so frightened that he was scarcely able to move, and then the 
thought came to him that if he was to save himself he would have 
to think and act quickly. 

Then he recalled something that his grandfather had told him 
when he was little more than a tadpole. ^^If you should ever 
chance to meet a snake,” his grandfather had said, ^Hake a long 
jump in the opposite direction from the way the snake is facing. 
This will cause the snake to turn his head and the upper part of 
his body in order to follow you. Then take another hop back 

again and somewhat to the left. In turning to follow you again, 

26 


the upper part of the snake^s body will form a loop. The next 
move seems like a very reckless thing to do, but you must do it 
if your little plan is to succeed. Turn about and jump right 
through the center of this loop.’^ 

The little frog felt that his only chance of escape depended on 



his doing just as his grandfather had said. So he kept his wits and 
jumped in the direction he had been told to; and sure enough the 
snake curved his long neck and body to follow Master Frog. Then, 
without pausing a moment, the little frog leaped back again and to 

the left; and again the snake followed him, forming a large loop 

27 


of the entire fore part of his body. Then, calling on all the courage 
he could muster, Master Froggie turned about and jumped straight 
through the center of the loop. Without thinking what would 
happen, the ugly snake opened his big jaws to catch the little 
frog and shot his head through the loop he had made of himself, 
and I wonder if you know what did happen. 

I have made some little drawings to make it easier for you to 
understand, and if you will study them it will save me the trouble 
of telling you. I will say, though, that by the time the snake 
succeeded in untying himself, Master Frog was quite safe in a 
nearby pond. 


28 


THE COMING OF DAWN 


H ave you ever been in a camp in the heart of a dense 
woods? If you have, and if you happened to be awake 
just at the first peep of dawn perhaps you have heard 


the chorus of hundreds of birds, for that is the time they choose 
for their big concert of the day. 



This is a story about a young jay and a very silly"remark that 
he made. The note of the jay is not really song, but just a single 
long cry; and as this little jay was just learning to sing, his note 
was little more than a squawk. 


29 


One day he had planned a long trip and wished to rise very 
early in the morning; so he awoke about an hour before daylight 
and began his unpleasant cry. He kept it up for a long time, and 
finally succeeded in waking all the birds in that part of the forest. 
Of course they did not like the idea of being aroused long before 
it was time to get up, and some of them were quite angry. An 
old crow who was naturally a late sleeper, and very much out of 
patience at being awakened, spoke to him and asked what he 
meant by disturbing them. 

^^Why,^’ said the foolish little jay, thought we sang to 
bring the dawn. The daylight always comes when we begin to 
sing, and I wanted it to be light so that I wouldnT have to travel in 
the dark.’^ 

At this the birds laughed and jeered and began to make all 
manner of fun of him, and he felt very much embarrassed. 

But a lovely little thrush who had a sweet song and a tender 
heart flew to him and said, Child, that was not such a silly mis- 
take to have made. The dawn does come about the time we begin 
our morning songs, but it is not our singing that brings the day. 
The coming of dawn is part of the greater plan. It is the first peep 
of daylight that wakens us and we sing to welcome it and because 

it makes us happy; but our singing does not bring the day.’’ 

30 


THE SAFER WAY 


A MOTHER MOUSE and her son once lived in a hole 
back of the icebox in a fine old-fashioned kitchen. It 
was a very comfortable place to five, and the yoimg 
mouse grew up in luxury and idleness. They were quite safe in 
their hole and the pantry was well stocked with all sorts of good 
things to eat. To be sure there was an old housecat who would 
gladly have made a meal of either of them had she known that 
they were such near neighbors. But she was weU fed and spent 
a great deal of her time asleep on the rug in front of the fire. 

Like many another mother, Mrs. Mouse did altogether too 
much for her son. She never allowed him to go more than a few 
steps beyond the door of their home for fear some accident might 
befall him. If there was food to be got, she was the one to get it, 
for, ‘^How terrible it would be,’^ she would say, ^^if anything were 
to happen to my child.’^ The result was that he grew up to be a 

great big mouse without the least idea how to take care of himself. 

31 


One day the mother mouse became quite ill and was unable 
to go out as usual to get their supper. Her son was very much at 
a loss to know what to do, but finally he became so hungry that 
he decided he had better go in search of something to eat. Mrs. 
Mouse was very much worried, and charged him to be very care- 
ful and to make sure that the old cat was fast asleep before ven- 
turing into the kitchen. 

^^Have no fear for me,” said the helpless young mouse. 
know how to take care of myself.” 



Now I don^t know as he was altogether to blame for the stupid 
thing he did; for, as I said, his mother had never taught him to 
take care of himself, much less to look after her; but what do you 
suppose he did? He saw old Mrs. Tabby-cat stretched out on the 

rug before the fire, but to save his life he could not make out 

32 


whether she was asleep or just nodding. have seen mother 
spend half an hour or more creeping about and trying to make sure 
whether Mrs. Cat was asleep or not, and it always seemed to me 
like a dreadful waste of time,” he said. know a way that is a 
great deal more certain and will not take nearly so long.” So he 
walked up quite close to Mrs. Cat and said, ^^Mrs. Cat, are you 
asleep?” Mrs. Cat was asleep, but of course she did not stay 
asleep very long after that. She awoke with a jump and made one 
spring at Master Mouse. 

Now I will say this much for him — he may have been stupid 
but he was very active; and to that fact he owes his life. He 
darted under the icebox and into the hole so quickly that old 
Tabby was not certain afterward whether it had really happened 
or whether it was all a strange dream. 

When his mother was well enough to stand the shock he told 
her of the narrow escape he had had; and ever after he was quite 
certain that her way was best, even though it did tak^ a little 
longer. 


33 


HOW THE TOAD GOT HIS HUMPS 


O NCE upon a time a snail and a toad were walking along 
a road together. They were not really walking, of 
course, for they donT either of them do that. The 
toad hops and the snail creeps. This made it rather difficult for 
them to keep in step. The toad would take a short hop and then 
wait for the snail to catch up with him, and then he would take 
another hop. You can see that this was not the most pleasing 
way for folks to travel together, and it irritated the toad greatly; 
so he began to find fault with the snaiPs way of traveling. 

^^What a miserable way to have to go about,’’ he said, ^^with 
that great, rolled-up shell on your back. If I were burdened with 
that I would put it to some use. If I had to carry it up every hill 
with me I would at least have the common sense to draw myself 
into it and roll down, instead of creeping both ways.” As they 
talked, they had been climbing a long steep grade and had now 

got to the top. ^'See here,” said the toad, ^^I am tired of 

34 


lagging, to keep pace with you. Why don’t you crawl into your 
shell and roll down this hill?” 

^^That isn’t a bad idea,” said the snail, ^^but I should not like 
to leave you so far behind. Suppose we both roll down.” 

^'But, stupid thing,” said the toad, “how am I to roll when 
I have no shell?” 


“Oh! that’s very simple,” said the snail pointing to an old tin 
can that happened to be lying beside the -road. “You just hop 
into that can and I will start you.” 



had spoken in hah a mile. “I wouldn’t have given you credit for 
having such a bright idea.” 


35 


So without another word the lazy old toad hopped into the 
can and the snail gave him a shove. The can started to roll, 
slowly at first, then faster and faster until it fairly whirled. Over 
and over went the poor toad; bumpety bump, bumpety bump, 
over stones and humps. 

“Help! help!^^ cried Mr. Toad, “I am being shaken all to 
pieces.^’ 

But of course there was no help for him. On and on went the 
can until finally it struck a large stone at the bottom of the hill 
and came to a stop. Limp and bruised, poor Mr. Toad dragged 
himself out of the can and waited for his friend to overtake him. 
Master Snail did not try to roll down the hill. He snickered to 
himself as he watched his companion in his wild ride. 

“I think he knows now why I doiiT roll down the hills,^^ he 
said as he crept slowly along to where his poor friend sat waiting. 
The old fellow was too weak and battered to find any fault. He 
hopped very slowly and painfully, and Mr. Snail had no difficulty 
keeping pace with him after that. 

Mr. Toad was a long time getting over his bumps and bruises. 
In fact I have heard that his bumps never did disappear, and that 
to this day his children and grandchildren still carry them. 


36 


LITTLE NERO 


B OW-WOW-WOW!” It was a tiny piping bark that could 
not possibly have frightened anybody, and old Tabby who 
happened to be the one that was barked at this particular 
time, did not even so much as turn her head to show surprise. 



Instead she straightened her tail higher and stiffened her walk a 
little as much as to say, “If that was a dog barking I did not even 
so much as hear him.” Now, if there is one thing that makes a 

dog feel worse than another, it is to bark and not be noticed. 

37 


Nero was a fuzzy little Newfoundland puppy, so soft and 
shaggy that he looked as much like your Teddy bear as anything 
I can think of, but he did not know what a cute little object he 
was and felt very important and grown-up. 

Bow-wow-wow!’’ he said again, and then, when no atten- 
tion was paid to him he felt very much put out and walked back 
to his basket to think. wonder what the trouble is,” said he. 

have always heard that dogs are brave and fearless and yet 
I cannot so much as frighten the old cat.” Nero was full of life 
and mischief and it was his one great wish to have everyone fear 
and stand in awe of him. will startle someone,” he said to 
himself, ^^and I will bark at Mrs. Cat until I frighten her.” So 
every time old Tabby came near he would spring out and bark 
just as loudly as he could. Had she been in a different humor 
Tabby might have taken time to scratch his foolish little nose, but 
she didn’t. She had had children of her own and she understood 
them. So she just smiled pleasantly and went about her business. 

As time went by, however. Tabby became tired of being barked 
at by the foolish little puppy, so one day after he had barked 
himself hoarse she said to him, '^Nero, do you want me to tell 
you why you bark at people? It is because you are very anxious 

to startle them and impress them with your importance. Now I 

38 


am going to give you some advice. Everyone here knows that you 
are nothing but a silly little puppy. We have seen you and 
watched you grow ever since you were old enough to toddle. We 
all like you because you are so cunning, but you cannot expect to 
startle any of us. If you wish to do that you must go away 
where folks know nothing of your puppyhood.^^ With this old 
Tabby smiled kindly at him and walked away. 

Little Nero was very much put out. ^'But I do not want to 
go away,^^ he said to himself. am very happy here. Only I do 
want to make an impression on someone.’’ He spent a good deal 
of time thinking about it and the more he thought the more he 
became convinced that old Tabby was right. So finally, much as 
he dreaded to leave his pleasant home, he decided that that was 
the thing he would have to do if he wished to appear to be any- 
thing other than a cunning little dog. So he went. 

Many months passed and Tabby had begun to wonder if she 
would ever see little Nero again. She was sad, too, in a way, for 
she missed his silly little pranks and his important manner. One 
day she was dozing on her favorite door-mat enjoying the sun 
when suddenly she was startled almost out of her wits to find her- 
self facing a huge dog who seemed to have come suddenly from 

nowhere and stood not more than three feet in front of her. She 

39 


was almost too frightened to spring for safety, but before she 
could move he spoke in the gentlest voice possible. ^^Dear Tabby,’’ 
he said, ^'do not be frightened Don’t you remember me? I am 
little Nero.” Tabby’s fright changed to surprise and joy, but she 
was still a little bit uneasy. He looked so very big and fierce. 

have traveled far and seen a great deal,” said Nero. have 

frightened many cats and I have whipped a great many dogs; 
and I am very glad to be home again.” 

^^You scared me almost to death,” said poor Tabby. 

A sad, sad look came into Nero’s face. am sorry I fright- 
ened you,” he said. 

^^But,” said Tabby, “I thought that was the very thing you 
went away to learn how to do.” 

^'It was,” said Nero shaking his great head, '^but I have seen 
a great deal of the world and I am no longer the silly little puppy 
I once was. It makes me sad to have all my fellow creatures fear 
me. I want friends who can trust me and who are not afraid of 
me and sometimes I wish, oh, how I wish I could be a little puppy 
again — the cute, little puppy whom everyone loved and nobody 
feared.” 

^^What a queer, queer world this is,” said old Tabby. ^'But,” 

she added wisely, shall be very glad to be your friend.” 

40 


A TRIP TO NOWHERE 


O NE day a little bunny was hopping along through the 
woods when he came to the edge of a brook. ^^Now 
what am I to do?^’ thought he. cannot hop across 
this stream.’^ This made him quite unhappy so he sat down on 
the bank to think. 

^‘Well/^ said he at length, have great patience; surely the 
brook cannot flow on forever; I will stay here until it passes by.’’ 
But the brook did not pass by. Day after day the water came, 
and day after day the bunny waited. At length he came to realize 
that the stream would never pass. So he put his wits to work on 
another plan. 

“I know,” said he finally. ^^This brook must certainly end 
somewhere. I will go to the place where it ends and there I will 
be able to get to the opposite side.” So he hopped a long way in 
the direction the stream flowed and after many days came to the 
end of the brook. But the brook flowed into a great river and 

there was no possible chance of crossing that. 

41 


^^Well! Well!^^ said Master Bunny, ^'this is discouraging; but 
there is another thing I can do, and I will not be content until I 
have done it. I will travel to the place where the brook begins.” 
So he started off and hopped and hopped — day after day — day 
after day. He had traveled many miles and was very weary, so he 
sat down to rest. 



While he was sitting there a tiny chipmunk crept out from 
his home among the rocks and greeted him. Where are you 
going?” said he. 

^^Oh,” said Master Bunny, am very blue and discouraged. 
I am trying to get across this stream and I have done everything 
I can think of but there seems to be no way. Oh dear! What 
shaU I do?” 


42 


c 


The chipmunk scratched his little forehead with his paw for a 
moment and then asked, ^^Why do you wish to get across the 
brook?” 

A strange expression flashed across Master Bunny's face as he 
replied, ^^Why, I don't really know. To tell the truth I hadn't 
thought of that. I was just hopping along when this brook came 
flowing by, directly across my path, and it seemed to me that, in 
order to continue on my way, I would have to cross the brook.'' 

^^That is quite true,'' said the little chipmunk, ^^but if I were 
you, and had no better reason than that, I think I would be con- 
tent to stay on this side.'' 


43 


THE LONELY LITTLE ROSE 


BEAUTIFUL wild rose once bloomed on the sunny side 



of an old stone wall. It was a very lonely spot. There 
were no little boys or girls to come by that way and 


find it and say, ^^Oh, see the lovely rose! How sweet it is.’’ 

^'I am lonely,” said the rose. ^^No one will ever know that I 
have hved. Here I have lived and here I shall fade. What is the 
use of being fair and sweet when it gives happiness to no one?” 

A rude squirrel, scampering along the wall, brushed the rose 
aside and went on his way without so much as pausing to say, 
^'Oh, I am sorry, I did not mean to jostle you.” The gentle June 
breeze came and kissed the rose, took some of its sweetness and 
passed on. 

Tomorrow I shall fade,” said the lovely rose, “and my use- 
less life will be ended.” 

As she spoke she heard a soft purring sound. Nearer and 
nearer it came. It was the buzz of a busy honeybee. Straight 


44 


to the lonely rose he flew. “May I take some of your sweetness 
with me?” said he. “I am gathering honey for little boys and 
girls to eat. Of course one tiny bee cannot gather very much; 
but I do what I can and there are thousands and thousands of 
bees doing just what I am doing, and together we have gathered 
all of the honey that was ever made.” 



“You are welcome to all of my sweetness,” said the rose. 

So the bee gathered the honey and went his way; and the 
rose was very happy for she knew that she had not bloomed in 
vain. 


45 


THE FLYING LESSON 


T his is a story about a little raccoon who had a very 
active mind and a rather lazy body. He was not con- 
tent to run about on the ground and chmb trees and 
bathe in the brooks. He wanted to fly. Walking is tiresome, 
and climbing is real work. It must be very restful to go sailing 
through the air with nothing to do but to move your wings occa- 
sionally.^’ He would lie on his back for hours looking up at 
the sky and watching the birds as they flew by. 

One day he saw a real aeroplane sailing along high, high in 
the air. How beautiful it was and what a thrill Master Raccoon 
felt as he gazed at it. Then the thought came to him, ^Hf men 
can fly there is no reason why I should not.” He spent a good 
deal of his time thinking about it and Anally an idea came to 
him. know what I will do,” said he. ^'The next time we have 
chicken for dinner I will ask mother to let me have the wings.” 

Not long after this the Raccoon family did have chicken. It 
46 


was a fine young fowl with a pair of beautiful red wings, and 
Master Raccoon was so delighted when his mother told him he 
might have them, that he scarcely ate a bite of dinner. He asked 
to be excused before the meal was finished and set about fastening 
the wings on to his back just below the shoulders, with some 
pieces of string and a belt. He arranged it so that by pulling 
on the ends of the strings he was able to move the wings up and 
down like a bird. But when all was ready and he attempted to 
fly, what was his surprise and disappointment to discover that, 
try as he would, he could not so much as raise both feet from the 
ground. 

While he was pondering over this and wondering what the 
trouble was, an old crow came along and lighted on a nearby tree. 
Master Raccoon was so deep in thought that he did not see old 
Mr. Crow turn his head away to hide a smile. Mr. Crow was 
none too friendly with the Raccoon family, and it would have 
been well for the little raccoon had he remembered this, but he 
did not; and he took all of the old crowds advice in good faith 
and without the slightest question of doubt. 

“I have been flying for a number of years,” said Mr. Crow, 
^^and I know from my own experience that it is a very difficult 

thing for even an expert flyer to take to the air from the ground. 

47 


I almost always alight in the upper branches of some tall tree and 
then, when I wish to fly, all I have to do is to flap my wings and 
drop down a little just to get a good start and then — away I 
soar/’ 

All of this sounded very reasonable to the young raccoon and 
he felt perfectly sure that he would have no further trouble if he 
did as the crow suggested. So he climbed to the very top of a 
tall tree. It was hard workf for he was not used to climbing with 
wings and they kept getting in his way; but finally all was ready 
and he spread the chicken wings out, just as he had seen birds do, 
and then let go. There was a rustling of feathers and a flapping 
sound and then a crash, crash, bumpety, bump, as poor Master 
Raccoon tumbled down, down, down, through the branches of the 
tree and finally struck the ground with a hard thump — tangled 
pieces of string — wings — feathers and all — for you know, and I 
know, and we might have told Master Raccoon, that he would 
surely come to grief. 

Fortunately he was not badly hurt, but he was very much 
shaken up and it was some time before he managed to gather him- 
self together and untie the wings; for he had no more wish to 
try to fly. 

As he started off for home he heard a ^^Caw, caw,” that 
48 


sounded to him very much like a laugh, and looking up he saw 
the old crow flap his wings and sail away far up into the sky. 

think that old crow knew that my wings wouldn^t work 
and was playing a joke on me,^^ said Master Raccoon indignantly; 
and I think he was right; don't you? 


49 



THE LAZY 
GRASSHOPPER 

T here were hundreds 
of beautiful hollyhocks 
along the garden wall, 
red, purple, pink, lavender, white, 
scarlet, yellow, and all of the 
shades that go between; and when 
the sun shone on them they seemed 
to be fairly aflame. Of course the 
bees found them and they knew 
that it was the very best place to 
come for honey. So they gathered 
all that they could carry and then 
flew back to their hives and told 
other bees about the wonderful 
hollyhock blossoms; and the other 
bees returned with them to the 
hollyhock garden for more honey, 
and so it went on day after day. 
50 


The busy little bees buzzed here and 
there among the blossoms trying first 
one and then another, just as you do 
sometimes when you have a whole box 
of candy all at once. Sometimes a bee 
going into the heart of a blossom would 
meet another coming out, and they 
would almost bump into each other; but 
then would turn aside just in time and 
go hurrying on their way. 

A lazy old grasshopper sat on a 
tall blade of grass watching them. All 
through the long hot day he sat there, 
deep in thought, and not so much as 
moving a leg or turning his head. Late 
in the afternoon, when he was sure that 
he had given the matter enough thought, 
he called one of the bees to him. The 
bee was not at all anxious to stop her 
work just to listen, for she had planned 
to make two more trips to her hive be- 
fore dark; but she did not like to be im- 

pohte so she stopped for just a minute. 

51 



have been watching you silly bees all day/^ said the old 
grasshopper, ^^and do you know that you waste a great deal of time 
simply because you have no system? Sometimes as many as twenty 
of you will go into a single blossom in less than an hour. If you 
managed rightly, each one of you would be assigned to a separate 
flower and you would not waste time going to the same blossom.” 

The little bee listened patiently until the grasshopper had fin- 
ished and then she said, ^‘Each one of us gets some honey from 
every blossom we visit, and it is the correct way to gather honey. 
As for the amount of work we accomplish, I have made twenty 
trips to my hive today and have taken all the honey I could carry 
on each trip and most of my companions have done as well. May 
I ask how much work you have done?” 

I don^t know whether or not the old grasshopper made any 
reply, but I did see him gather his two long legs up so that they 
looked like V^s turned upside down, and then he gave a great hop 
and the little bee went on about her work. 


52 


THE BETTEE WAY 


L ittle teddy bear was very fond of blackberries; 
and every day during the berry season, he and his mother 
would take their baskets and go to the blackberry thicket 
and pick until their baskets were full. Then they would return to 
their home in a cave under some great rocks and when dinner time 
came they would each have a nice, heaping dish of berries. But I 
am sorry to say little Teddy was very greedy and the berries did 
taste so good that he got into the habit of putting them into his 
mouth instead of the pail. ^^They taste so good,” he said to him- 
self, ^^and anyway mother will pick all that we need for dinner.” 

That was all very well, but of course that sort of thing could 
could not go on for very long without his mother discovering it; 
and it made her quite sad to think that her little son should be 
so selfish. So she decided that she would have to teach him a 
lesson. 

One day they went to the berry patch as usual and, as usual, 


53 


Teddy ate all the berries he picked. He was so busy doing this 
that he did not notice what his mother was doing. That night 
when they sat down to dinner Teddy was much surprised to find 
that there were no berries in his bowl. “ Can it be that my mother 
is so selfish as to have kept all of the berries for herself?” thought 
he. But when he looked he discovered that her bowl was empty 
too. 



“Why, mother,” said he, “we haven’t any berries.” 


“No,” replied his mother. “I did just what you have been 
doing. All of the berries that I didn’t eat, I put into my basket 
for our dinner.” 

“But, mama, there aren’t any in your basket,” said Teddy. 
54 


replied his mother. ^^Then suppose we have those 
that are in your basket.” 

Of course Teddy could make no reply and he was quite 
ashamed of himself. » 

know just how you feel,” said his mother. felt very 
greedy too when I ate all of the berries I picked. Don^t you think 
it is the nicer way to save them and then enjoy them together at 
dinner? ” 

^^Yes,” said Teddy, ^^and I am very sorry to think that I have 
been so selfish.” 


55 


GETTING OUT OF A HOLE 


O NE dark night Mr. Frog and his httle son went out for 
a walk, or, I suppose it would be more proper to say for 
a hop. It was such a very dark night that they could 
not see the length of one good hop ahead of them, and that was 
why they chanced to meet with an accident. Young Master Frog 
happened to be just half a hop ahead of his father when he dropped 
right into a deep hole. He was not hurt one bit, but the sides of 
the hole were very steep and he found the work of jumping back 
out, very difficult. Every time he tried he would slip back just 
half as far as he had hopped. 

With the aid of several friendly fireflies who were passing, 
they were able to see that the hole was about six feet deep, and at 
each leap Master Frog would go about one foot and slip back half 
that distance. 

Cheer up,^' said his father, ^^it will take you just eleven 
jumps to get out of the hole.” 

don^t see how you figure that out,” said his son. for be 

prided himself on being particularly bright at arithmetic. 

56 


^^Try it and see/^ said his father. 

So the young frog hopped a foot and slipped back half a foot; 
and he hopped another foot and slipped back another half a foot, 
and so on. 

am gaining just half a foot at each hop,’’ said he, ^^and if 
the hole is six feet deep it will take me just twelve jumps to reach 
the top.” 



But there was one thing that he did not think of. I wonder 
if you know what it was. The eleventh hop took him to the top 
of the hole so of course he didn’t slip back that time. 

'^Well,” said he with an embarrassed smile, didn’t think of 

that. Anyway, I am glad to have got out of the hole.” 

57 


GREAT AND SMALL 


O NE day a long time ago, a tiny mouse was sitting near 
the door of his home in an old stump when he was 
attacked by a rat. The rat looked very big and ugly 
and the poor little mouse was frightened almost to death; but he 
managed to escape into his hole in the stump. 

As the rat turned to walk away he found himself face to face 
with a mink. The mink had very sharp teeth and he looked any- 
thing but friendly; and old Mr. Rat was so frightened that he 
trembled all over, but he did have presence of mind enough to 
dart under an old stone wall where the mink could not follow. 

The mink was very angry; but a moment later his anger 
turned to fright for just a few steps away he saw a large raccoon. 
The raccoon was just about to pounce upon him and it was his 
good fortune that he happened to be close to the bank of a little 
stream. He gave two quick bounds and splashed into the water 
just in time to escape the sharp claws of Mr. Raccoon. 

58 



“ Mr. Raccoon had no wish 

to pick a quarrel with Reynard.” 





The raccoon turned in disgust, but he had gone only a little 
way when he met a fox. The fox and the raccoon are bitter 
enemies and Mr. Raccoon had no wish to pick a quarrel with 
Reynard. In fact his only thought was to get away, so he scam- 
pered up a tree just as fast as he could go. 

“It is lucky for you that I cannot climb,^^ said the fox. But 
he had scarcely gotten the words out of his mouth when he heard 
a sharp snarl behind him, and turning, he was terrified to see that 
he was being followed by a big timber wolf. Reynard needed no 
one to tell him that his life was in danger. He darted into the 
underbrush and it was fortunate for him that he was swift enough 
to make his escape. The wolf clawed the earth and growled in 
rage for he did not like to think that so large and powerful a crea- 
ture as he, could be outdone by a fox. 

The breaking of a large bough just ahead of him caused the 
wolf to look up and what was his fear and surprise to find himself 
facing a great grizzly bear. Mr. Wolf had no thought then but to 
get away as quickly as he could, so he turned and fled; and as the 
old bear was too heavy to run very fast, the wolf managed to save 
himself. 

Then the tiny mouse crept out from his hiding place and 
walked fearlessly up to the great bear who looked down and smiled 

59 



at the little creature and said, ^^Why is it that you, who were 
afraid of the rat, who was afraid of the mink, who was afraid of 
the raccoon, who was afraid of the fox, who was afraid of the 
wolf, who was so afraid of me; why is it that you are not afraid 
of me?^^ 

don’t know,” said the little mouse, and he crept very close 
to the big grizzly. don’t know, but I suppose it is because you 
are so very great and I am so very small that it seemed as if you 
would hardly go to the bother of noticing me; much less of doing 
me any harm.” 


60 


THE CARELESS DRAGONFLY 


O NE lazy summer^s day a gay dragonfly sailed out over 
the water and alighted on the prow of a boat that was 
moored to a post. While he was enjoying the sunshine, 
a fish happened to spy him and thought what a fine dinner he 
would make. The fish darted out of the water and tried to catch 
him, but the dragonfly was just high enough to be safely out of 
reach, and Mr. Fish splashed back into the water again without 
having got his prey. 



61 


Now, the dragonfly was a little bit like some people I know, 
he loved to tease, and when he discovered that he was safely out 
of reach of the fish, he made a practice of going every day to the 
same place to sun himself and take a little nap — and every day 
the fish would make the same hopeless effort to catch him. This 
was great sport for the dragonfly — but one day he sailed over the 
place where the boat had been — to find it gone. Never mind,” 
thought he, “that need not put an end to my sport. The post is 
still here.” So he ahghted on the post — taking great care to 
choose a spot a safe distance above the water. 

The sun was warm and bright and Mr. Dragonfly soon fell to 
dozing. I do not know how long he dozed, but I do know what 
happened to poor Mr. Dragonfly. The tide came in, and the water 
rose higher and higher, until it was within a few inches of where 
he was perched and then, along came Mr. Fish, and he didn’t 
have to more than half try, to jump out of the water and catch 
Mr. Dragonfly in his great open mouth — and that was just what 
he did. 

It is a very good plan for dragonflies and for little children 
too, to be careful what kind of places they select for their naps — 
isn’t it? 


62 


THE EUNAWAY DONKEY 


I N A street just around the comer from some place or other 
lived a little boy and girl. They had a great many toys — 
not to mention a dog and a cat — and one day their grand- 
father gave them a real live donkey and the cutest little cart that 
you ever saw. Of course the children were delighted. I don’t 
know just how the donkey felt about it. Being a pet donkey isn’t 
always the most pleasant thing in the world. The children drove 
him up the street and down the street and around the block and 
back again until he became very tired of his lot. So, one day, he 
set his donkey wits to try to think up some plan to get out of 
being overworked. At first he tried loafing, but that did not work 
out at all to his liking. The children would jerk at the reins, and 
sometimes they would even go so far as to strike him with the 
whip. So finally he decided to do a very fearful thing. He de- 
cided to run away. He had heard of runaways and he had always 
understood that they were most alarming things. So, when the 

63 


children urged him to hurry along and struck him, he started off 
and ran just as fast as he could go. At first he thought it exciting 
sport. will run fast enough and far enough to give them a 
real scare, said he — and he ran a little faster if possible. He 
ran, and he ran, until he was quite out of breath and very tired — 
and finally he began to think. Then all at once the thought came 
to him — ^^Can it be that those naughty children have been so 
unkind as to let me think I was running away just to keep me 
going? And — will you believe it — that was exactly what those 
roguish youngsters had been doing. 



64 


WOODCHUCK LODGE 


A PLUMP old woodchuck once decided to make his home 
on the sunny sloping side of a clover field. He dug a 
hole about six inches wide, for that is the kind of a 
home the woodchuck makes. Of course a great deal of dirt had to 
be dug out to make such a hole, and the woodchuck did not haul the 
dirt away. He heaped it up in a circular ridge at the very door of 
his hole. That was the way his father and grandfather and all the 
other good woodchucks he could remember had made their homes; 
so surely there must be some good reason for doing it that way. 

In a brush heap not very far from Mr. Woodchuck^s home, 
lived two rabbits; and like some other people, they had the very 
unpleasant habit of finding fault with their neighbors. They made 
no end of fun of good old Mr. Woodchuck. He was fat and a 
little bit awkward, and could not get over the ground nearly so 
fast as they could; and that furnished them a great deal of amuse- 
ment and gave them much to talk about. 

And when they tired of this, they began to criticise the manner 

65 


in which his home was built. was like living in a damp cellar/^ 
they said, ^^and must be very unhealthy indeed. They much pre- 
ferred a nice, airy, well-ventilated brush pile. And, if he did have 
to dig a hole in the ground to live in, why on earth didnT he haul 
that unsightly mound of earth away from his door. They were the 
ones who had to look at it; and it certainly was not beautiful.” 

So they talked, and many of the remarks were made so loud, and 
in such a way that old Mr. Woodchuck could not help hearing them. 
But he pretended not to hear, or laughed it off in his cheerful way. 

The warm, sunny summer passed and October came with chill 
autumn rains. My! how hard it rained. The brush pile was a 
very poor shelter and the two saucy rabbits were soon drenched to 
their skins. 

^‘This is not so very pleasant,” said one of them, after they 
had stood it about as long as they could. 

^^Let us go over and pay old Mr. Woodchuck a little visit,” 
said the other. '^Perhaps it is dry over there, and he will never 
suspect that we came to get out of the wet.” 

That seemed to be a good idea so the two bunnies hopped 
across the wet field to Mr. Woodchuck’s home and told him that 
they had come for a little visit. 

am very glad to see you,” said good old Mr. Woodchuck 
66 


with a sly wink, “but before you come in, let me explain to you 
just why I left the dirt heaped about the door of my home/’ 

So the wise old fellow kept the two wretched rabbits standing 
out in the rain while he, with just his nose poked out of the cozy 



hole, explained how the bank of earth kept the water that came’ 
rushing down the hillside, from running into his hole and drowning 
him out. It was all very clear to them at a glance, but they had 
to wait just the same until he had finished telling them about it. 
Then he welcomed them into his cozy little house where they had 
a chance to dry their fur, and they talked about a great many 
things. Do you think they ever again made fun of the way in 
which he had built his house? It is not always wise to ridicule the 

way a thing is done simply because you don’t understand it. 

67 


WISDOM 


O NE sunny day two old geese went for a walk. It was a 
beautiful day and they went on and on until they had 
got far beyond the familiar places they knew so well 
about the poultry yard. Finally they came to a crossroad and 
they were at a loss to know which way to go to get back home. 
Now these two foolish old geese were very well satisfied with them- 
selves; but they really knew less than nothing. There was a sign- 
board with a hand that pointed down one way and the words that 
told where the road led to. And there was another hand that 
pointed the other way and told where that road went. But as 
neither of these old geese could read a word the hands did not help 
them one bit. 

^^How perfectly silly it is to have the hands point in different 
directions/^ said one. ^^If instead of having two hands they had 
just one, and pointed it in the direction of our home, then there 
could be no chance for doubt and we would have no trouble. 
Stupid! Stupid 1^^ 


68 


While they were pondering over the difficulty an old turtle 
came waddling along the road. 

^^Mr. Turtle/’ said one of the geese with an air of much 
greater wisdom than he really possessed, ^^We haven’t our glasses 
and cannot read the sign at this distance. Can you tell us which 
road to take to get back home?” 



Now the turtle was able to read the sign for he had some edu- 
cation. But he knew only his own language and so he just smiled 
and tipped his hat politely and told them that he couldn’t under- 
stand them and passed on. 

^^What a very stupid creature,” exclaimed the geese indig- 

69 


nantly. can^t understand us, and he can^t talk so that we 

can understand him.” 

Then the two old geese went on their way quite satisfied with 
their own wisdom, and wondering how anyone else could know 
so little. 


70 


ONE KERNEL OF CORN 


T hree little rats were playing in an old bushel 
basket back of the bam one fine spring day, when they 
happened to spy a kernel of corn wedged in between the 
wickers at the bottom of the basket. It was not a difiicult matter 
to get it out, but the real trouble arose after this had been done. 
Which of them was to have the prize? They had all seen it at 
about the same moment, and they had each had a hand in releasing 
it from the wickers. The idea of dividing it into three parts seemed 
altogether too foolish for words as there is little enough to a kernel 
of corn, let alone dividing it. None of the three would think of 
giving up his claim to the whole kernel and the argument was be- 
coming quite serious when Mrs. Rat, who happened to be under a 
box a short distance away, heard the wrangle and came out to 
settle it. 

^'See here, my children,^^ said she when she had learned the 

cause of the trouble, ^Hhere is not enough to a single kernel for one 

71 


of you to worry about, let alone three. What I am about to do 
may seem very foolish to you now but perhaps later on you will 
see the wisdom of it.^' So saying she dug a little hole about an 
inch deep in the ground close to the old stone wall, placed the 
kernel in the hole, and covered it up very carefully. The children 
were not at all well pleased when they saw her do this, and they 
thought it very unreasonable. 

A week passed and the kernel had been quite forgotten. 
Then one day, little Softpaw, the youngest son, came running quite 
out of breath to where his mother and the two older brothers were 
busy gnawing at the roots of an old tree. Mother! Mother!” 
said he, ^Hhere is a tall green plant growing up out of the very 
spot where you buried the kernel of corn.” 

Mrs. Rat smiled, but did not seem so surprised as her so’' 
^^Do not disturb it,” she said, ^^we will watch it grow from d^v 
to day and perhaps something wonderful will come of it. ” So e 
day they went to look at the strange tall plant that had appeared 
so mysteriously. And each day the plant was noticeably ta^^.r, 

I 

until at the end of a month, it looked to the little rats likxTa 
great, green tree with wide, waving branches that hung down like 
giant spears of grass. And then one day, when it had got oo 

very tall that the poor little rats almost had to break their necks 

72 



“What I am about to do 

may seem foolish to you now.” 



to look up at the top, they discovered that it had branched out 
into a beautiful tassel. 

^^How very lovely!” they exclaimed. 

^^Yes,” said their mother, ^^it is lovely, but I see something 
that is even more remarkable.” Then she pointed out to them a 
large, green swelling that had grown out close to the stalk of the 
plant just above one of the leaves. 

^'Let us look for more of them,” said her oldest son. That 
was a good idea and in a very short time they had discovered that 
there were four, and that there was a very queer bunch of some- 
thing that looked like hair sticking out of the end of each. 

Those swellings,” said the good mother, ^^are called ears. 
We will wait a few days and see if they get any larger.” So they 
watched the ears from day to day, and sure enough they did grow 
longer and fuller until finally each one was as large as one of the 
rats. 

^^How fortunate it is that there are four of them, one for each 
of us,” said the good mother. ^^They are all done up in beautiful 
green wrappings and we will not undo them until just before 
Thanksgiving.” 

The three little rats found it very difficult to wait, but there 

was nothing else to do, so they made the best of it. Then one day 

73 


in the autumn, when the long green leaves were beginning to 
change to a beautiful tan color, Mrs. Rat said, Tomorrow, if it 
is a nice day, we will undo our packages.^' 

You may imagine how difficult it was to wait another whole 
day, but they did; and the next morning the sun rose bright and 
clear. Mrs. Rat gnawed at the great stalk, just above the ground, 
until it began to sway back and forth in the breeze and finally fell 
with a rustle and crash. Then each of the rats ran up and began 
to tear the wrappers off his bundle. And what do you suppose 
they found inside of them? Well, they each found a beautiful, long 
ear of com, with rows and rows of the loveliest golden kernels you 
ever saw. ^^How very wonderful,’^ said the children. 

^^Yes,^’ replied Mrs. Rat, looking very wise indeed, ^^and only 
think that it all came from the one little kernel we buried here 
last spring.^^ 

am going to save two of my kernels to plant next year,^^ 
said little Sharp Claw. 

^^And so am said both of his brothers. And then they all 
sat down to a feast. 


74 


THE LONGEST WAY 


T here was once a silly old gander who had a way of 
tipping his head and blinking one eye that gave him a 
look of great wisdom, but in truth he was quite simple; 
and in this I am sure you will agree with ine when you have 
finished reading this story. One day, while he was foraging about 
the fields, he happened upon a large grasshopper. ^^Here is a prize, 
to be sure,” thought the old gander. 

But the grasshopper did not care to be made part of Mr. 
Gander^s dinner, and he led him a merry chase far across the fields, 
hopping this way and that until he finally made his escape under 
a large stone. By this t:’me poor old Mr. Gander had become so 
confused in his directions that he could not tell north from south, 
and he had not the slightest idea which way to turn his steps to 
return to the poultry yard. So he started off in the direction he 
supposed to be right and walked and walked. 

Finally he met an old crow perched on a stump sunning himself. 

Pardon me,” said the old gander, ^^but I have lost my way. 
75 


Can you tell me how far I will have to walk to get to the poultry 
yard?” 

you keep right on in the direction you are going,” said the 
crow, ^^you will have to travel about twenty-five thousand miles.” 
^^Dear! dear!” said the stupid old gander, “who would have 



dreamed I had wandered so very far away? But I had better 
hurry or it will be dark before I get half way back.” 

So he blinked his eye and cocked his head and started off. 
He walked and walked what seemed to him a very long way, until 
he met an owl. 


76 


“Mr. Owl” said he, “I am trying to get to the poultry yard. 
Can you tell me how much farther I have to go?” 

“If you keep on in the direction you are going,” said the wise 
old owl, “you will have to travel about twenty-five thousand miles. 
But,” he added, “if you will turn around and go in the opposite 
direction, a short walk of a half mile will bring you there.” 

“Dear! dear!” said the silly old gander, as he turned about 
and started off, “how strange that this did not occur to me before.” 


77 


THE ABSENT-MINDED LITTLE PIG 



^HIS is a story about a very little pig, but it might just 
as well have been a little boy or girl. This little pig 
lived with his mother in a tiny hut way down at one end 


of the barnyard. One day he asked his mother if he might go over 
and visit another little pig who lived some distance away in another 
corner of the farm. 

^^You may go,^^ said his mother, ^^but I think you had better 
take your raincoat and rubbers, it looks to me very much as 
though it might rain.’’ And she cast a knowing eye up at a big 
black cloud directly overhead 

^^All right, mother,” said the little pig, and he ran and got 
them and started off. 

Sure enough it did rain, and it kept on raining all the after- 
noon. ^^How thankful I am that I had him take his raincoat and 
rubbers,” said the good mother, as she stood looking at the big 


drops beating against the window. 

78 


Late in the afternoon, just when there was a particularly 
heavy downpour, the door opened and in walked Master Piggy; 
but what was his mother^s great surprise and dismay to discover 
that he was carrying his raincoat on his arm and his little rubbers 
in his hand, and he was drenched to the skin. 

^‘Why, my dear child,” said the poor mother as soon as she 
had recovered from the shock, ^^didn^t I tell you to take your 
raincoat and your rubbers for this very reason?” 

did take them,” sobbed the poor little pig, ^^but, mother, I 
never thought to put them on.” 



79 


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